Mission as a network of communities

Scripture Study

Acts traces travel, preaching, conflict, and local gatherings, while Paul's letters show ongoing support from named coworkers and hosts. Antioch sends Barnabas and Saul; Lydia opens her household; Romans 16 preserves a dense set of greetings. This evidence complicates stories that make the expansion of Christianity the work of one solitary apostle.

Why it matters

Adds social and geographic depth to the apostolic network scene.

Key points

Acts 13 depicts commissioning by a worshiping community in Antioch.
Acts 16 shows a household and a city entering the narrative through Lydia.
Romans 16 names multiple coworkers, including women, and should be read alongside Paul's theology rather than as a disposable list.

Scripture

Acts 13:1-5 — The Antioch community sets apart Barnabas and Saul.
Acts 16:11-15 — Lydia receives the message and hosts the missionaries.
Romans 16:1-16 — Paul commends and greets coworkers across a network of households.
Philippians 4:14-18 — Paul describes material partnership with the Philippian congregation.

Primary sources

The Spirit says:

Acts locates Barnabas and Saul's commissioning within the worshiping and fasting church at Antioch.

Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
— Acts of the Apostles (canonical text), Acts of the Apostles (Chapter 13, Verse 1-2), trans. New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE)

Passage context and translation

Acts places this saying within the Antioch church's worship and fasting; the community then fasts, prays, lays hands on Barnabas and Saul, and sends them out.

After the excerpt

Then, completing their fasting and prayer

Wording and immediate context checked against the USCCB NABRE text on 2026-09-24.

Sources and further reading

USCCB: Acts 13 with notes (Website)
USCCB: Romans 16 with notes (Website)

Related records

Households, hosts, and the infrastructure of mission (New Testament Guide)
Stephen and the spread beyond Jerusalem (Timeline Event)
Paul's conversion and missionary vocation (Timeline Event)
Gentiles received into the Church (Timeline Event)
Cyril and Methodius evangelize Slavic peoples (Timeline Event)
Apostolic Mission and Coworkers (New Testament Guide)
Barnabas (New Testament Witness)
Priscilla and Aquila (New Testament Witness)
Acts (Biblical Writing)
Ephesians (Biblical Writing)
Philemon (Biblical Writing)
3 John (Biblical Writing)

All records